Dispensing machine



Dec. 8, 1942.

A. S. GUERARD, JR msrausme momma:

Filed Oct. 2', 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 lNVEgNJOR withd- D 1942- A. s. GUERARD, JR 2,304,455

msrmi'sms MACHINE Filed Oct. 2, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I, III! Patented Dec. 8, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT O FFICE 2,304,455 DISPENSING MACHINE Albert S. Guerard, Jr., Berkeley, Calif. Application October 2, 1940, Serial No. 359,402

This invention relates to mechanism .for successively discharging articles from a storage reservoir.

It is among the objects of the invention to provide a dispenser for articles of merchandise, which comprises a multi-chambered storage reservoir, in which a variety of diiTerent articles The invention possesses other objects and feawhich, together with the forescope of the appended claim. Referring to the drawings: Figure l is a front elevational view of the dispensing machine of my invention. A portion of the view is broken away and shown in vertical view of the maby the line 2 2 elevational view of the Figure 4.

end of one of the reservoir 1 Claim. (Cl. 31248) the line 6-6 of Figure 1.

Figure 7 is an enlarged fragmental top plan view of the input end of one of the reservoir Storage racks.

Figure 8 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the structure of Figure '7. The plane of section is indicated by the line 88 of the latter figure.

Figure 9 is an end .eleva-tional view of the structure shown in Figure 8.

Figure 10 is brands under which these articles are sold, the storekeeper is confronted with the serious problem of providing, within the limits of his sales who may be conducting their businesses in much larger buildings.

In detail, I have shown a building ll having a sales floor l2 and a second floor. mezzanine or is prevented.

rod is provided 7 extensions the cans are discharged from the lowered end, 7

additional cans may be inserted, by an attendant, into each rack to fill the latter. The lowered end of each rack is secured to and opens into a tubular chute l8, which extends downwardly through a suitable aperture formed in the floor l3, along or adjacent the interior side wall of the building and terminates at its lower end in an open delivery hopper l9. Angularly disposed baffle plates 2| are secured to and project into the chute l8 so that when a can I! is released from one of the racks into the chute, the gravital accelleration of the can, as it passes downwardly through the chute, is resisted in order that the can may not be dented or otherwise damaged and the likelihood of the customers hand, which may be within the hopper 19 as the can is discharged thereinto, becoming bruised by the can In order to reduce the noise'of the can passing through the chute to a minimum, it is preferable, as shown in struct the chute l8 and the baffles 2| thereof of sheet steel having a rubber facing 22 such as is used in the construction of automobile running boards or stair treads. transverse width of each tier of racks is only slightly inexcess of the length of the can. Thus the amount of wall space required to provide for dispensing of the large number of cans contained in each rack is reduced to an absolute minimum over the space required'to display an equal number of cans in the usual manner on shelves. As many delivery chutes and racks as desired may be installed side by side as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 1. For the convenience of customers the front of each chute I8, adjacent the delivery hopper I8, is provided with brackets 23 in which sample cans 24, the latter being duplicates of the cans. in the respective rows of the rack, may be held. It is obvious that an entire rack may be devoted to one brand or kind of goods or the respective rows may be filled with different brands or types of goods, It is desirable however that each rack be devoted to one type of foodstuff, such as milk, and that the various brands of milk be placed in the, respective rows of the rack so as to group this and other commodities for the convenience of the customer. e.

7 Means is provided for selectively releasing one or any number of cans desired from the various rows of the rack. Referring to Figures 3 to inclusive, I provide, at the lowered end of each pair 0f rails 16, a pair of downwardly extending brackets 25 apertured to provide journa transversely extending rocker shaft 21. Secured to the shaft 21 is a U-shaped rod having a pair of radially upwardly extending arms 28 and a cross bar, 29 which extends across in front of the first can I! on the rails IS; A similar U-shaped having a pair of radially extend- 3I formed with arcuately curved outer 32, whose arc is swung around the ing arms- Figure 6, to con- It will be seen that'the sfora.

can from the selected row of the rack,

previously 7 button switch 44 may be employed, it is desirable,

a center, and a cross bar 33 which lies directly below the aforesaid first can l1. It will be seen that the can is cradled between the cross bars 29 and 33 and is prevented thereby from rolling from the rails into the chute I8. A lever 34, carried by and extending downwardly from the shaft 21 has a clevised outer end in which is secured, by a pivot pin 36, to one end of a link 31. The other end of the link 31 is secured by a pivot pin 38 to the clevised end of an armature 39 which is slidably mounted in a solenoid 4| mounted, by angle clips 42 or otherwise, on the bottom of the rails Hi. It will be seen that when the solenoid 41 is energized, the armature 39 will be electromagnetically drawn thereinto thereby causing rotation of the shaft 21. Such rotation will cause the bars 29 and 33' to move about the axis of the shaft thereby carrying the first can to the position shown by the dotted lines of Figure l wherefrom it will fall 18 and will thereafter continue the chute into the delivery hopper l9. discharge of the first can, the arcuate extensions 32 of the arms 3! will have moved in front of the next succeeding can to hold the latter until the solenoid is deenergiz ed and the bars 29 and 33 are returned, by a tor sion spring 43 acting on the shaft 21, to their normal positions. When the bars 29 and 33 return to their said normal positions, the said succeeding can will roll into the cradle so as to be in position to be ejected from solenoid M is again energized.

Mounted on the front of the chute I8, in number corresponding with the number of horizontal rows of cans in each rack, and positioned adjacent each of the sample cans 2 identifying the contents of the respective rows of the racks, is

axis of the shaft 21 as contact lead 41 which, as is shown in Figure 10, has one 46 thereof connected through a common with the secondary winding ducing transformer 49, the primary winding 5! of the transformer being connected to input conductors 52 such as the building mains. Each switch 44 has associated therewith a double pole single throw relay whose actuating coil connected by a lead 54 with the other contact 56 of the switch to all of the relay coils, with the secondary winding 43 of the transformer 49. One pair of relay contacts 58, which may be bridged by a contactor 59 moved by the relay armature, is connected by leads SI and 62, respectively, with one end of the coil 4! of the solenoid 4i and with one power lead 52 and a end of each solenoid coil the other power lead 52.

of a switch 44 is depressed the. circuit through the transformer'secondary winding 48 and the relay coil 53 associated with the depressed pushbutton, is completed thus causing the relay contactor to bridge the contacts 58. This also completes the circuit from the power mains 52 4 l is connected with through the selected solenoid coil 4| thereby causing the armature 33 to move to discharge a sponding to the depressed p-ushbutton,

described. While an ordinary pushin order 'to prevent mischievous persons from repeatedly and rapidly punching a pushbutton thereby causing a quantity of cans to fall from the racks into. the chutes, to provide a delayed action pushbutton so that a short wait is rethe rack when the 48 of a voltage re-- 44 and by a lead 51, common lead 64, connected with the other When the pushbutton quired between depressions of the pushbutton before the apparatus is reconditioned to dispense the successive cans.

vided, the arrangement being well known to pushbutton has been depressed to close the contacts.

Means is provided wheels 68 and 69. Each of the ratchet wheels has associated therewith a movable armature 70 carrying a ratchet dog H which engages the ratchet wheel during each advance movement of its armature, so as to rotate the ratchet Wheel an amount sufiiclent to register one unit on the counter 66, and which is inactive during recovery movement of the armature. The arrangement is such that one armature, when moved, will add ure 8, the cans in rolling along the rails It will successively depress a lever 14 which projects above the surface of the rails in the path of the The lever 74 is carried by the shaft 16 of are bridged each time common lead 8|, winding 48. Thus whenever a can is added to any rack and rolls over the lever 74 in entering the rack, the switch 11 will be closed thereby addition solenoid assoregistering of one numerical unit on the particular counter associated the can has been added.

The additional each the secondary winding 48 of the transformer and by a lead 86 with a subtraction solenoid '53. The other ends of the solenoids 13 are each connected, by the common lead 78 with the transformer secondary 48. Whenever button switch 44 is actuated, its relay in closing as to discharge a can from the selected rack, will also close the contacts 82 enabling him to stocks ALBERT S. GUERARD, JR. 

